Basketball Junkie

Since I posted my early previews of the ACC, there has been quite a bit of news out of the conference, mainly along Tobacco Road. Starting with the Tar Heels, when I first looked at their roster, their frontcourt looked a little thin. It got worse before it got better when the Wear twins announced that they would be transferring out of the program (later announced that UCLA would be their destination). With little more than John Henson and Tyler Zeller up front, Roy Williams got to work trying to add some talent up front. First up, Alabama graduate Justin Knox announced that he would take advantage of an NCAA rule allowing graduates to transfer to another school without having to sit out a year, so long as they enroll in a graduate program that their original school does not offer. While Knox is not exactly a superstar (he started 17 games at Alabama last season and averaged about 6 points and 4 rebounds in under 20 minutes a game), he can at least give Williams some frontcourt minutes. Then came news yesterday that James McAdoo, the top-rated power forward in next year's high school class and already a Carolina commit, was considering finishing up his high school studies this summer in order to enroll early at Chapel Hill and be able to play next season for the Tar Heels. If that in fact comes true, Williams' worries up front are pretty much a thing of the past.

Elsewhere on Tobacco Road, North Carolina State head coach Sidney Lowe got some great news, and some great expectations to go along with it, when C.J. Leslie announced that he would be attending NC State next year, turning an already strong recruiting class into a great one, a top five national recruiting class. Lowe will need all the help he can get, as an NCAA Tournament bid will likely be the minimum needed for him to retain his position beyond this season. But, with all that talent in Raleigh, he should be able to get it done.